Star Wars: Perfectness
by Squirrel Empire
Summary: Six hundred years after battle of Endor, the the New Republic is on the verge of collapse. This is about two Jedi Padawan, and their attempts to restore a broken republic. To do so, however, means to betray the Jedi Counsel... forever.
1. Chapter 1

The ancient Massasi Temple stood in the view not far from the academy, located right near the remains of an old New Republic airbase. The war of the rebellion and the Empire had ended over 400 years ago, and the remaining imperial forces still in control were long ago eradicated. The old stories were told and retold so many times before, that Live only thought of them so. Just stories.

His own mother, so far away, had told him stories of the rebellion, and how everything had come into being. He remembered the stories of the legendary Luke Skywalker, and his companion Han Solo. All the stories about the terrible Lord Vader, and about how all these events had come to pass. All about how the galaxy became what it was on that day. To shorten history into a single sentence… Everything got worse as time progressed. Live was living in dark times. Half of the star systems are thick with crime, where rape, murders, kidnappings are now part of the accepted happenings of daily life. Too young to understand, he just tried to figure out why everybody didn't just apologize and be friends. He also wanted to be back home, with his mother and father. These men just came, and they took him away from his mother and father, and now they promised he could be a Jedi, but he didn't care! It didn't matter to him if he ever became a Jedi or not, he just wanted to go home.

What was that man saying anyway? Live hadn't been listening, he'd been too busy looking around the room at all the other soon to be Jedi. Most were a lot older than he was. Many of the initiates were adults. Nearly all of them were aliens. There was one of the human subjects that caught his eye however.

She was just a little girl, very small. She was even smaller than he was himself. Small, with tanned skin, and dark hair, she looked afraid of something. Her eyes were wide and nervous, darting quickly from place to place, never staying in one place for long. Her eyes suddenly locked onto his own for a few seconds, and he could see her gray-blue eyes clearly before she quickly looked another way. She seemed reluctant to meet his gaze. Very shy, he thought to himself. She was resuming her frantic search around the room, and Live looked around at the other students.

They all seemed to be listening to what the instructor was saying. Live heard something about being the distant grandson of Luke Skywalker or something like that. It really didn't matter to him very much.

The girl caught his eye again, this time she was staring straight at him, but she shied away as his eyes locked on her. He moved closer to her, maybe he could talk to her; get something to say to her. Learn her name at least.

He just stood next to her for a few seconds, and she purposely avoided looking directly at him. He just stood and waited for her to give way.

While he waited he noticed that she took small glances in his direction, just barely noticeable. She was afraid of something, was it him? He decided to speak up.

"Hello? I'm Live. What's your name?"

She jumped up as if startled. And she looked at him with scared eyes. She just stared at him for a moment, he long dark hair falling to her waist, she came up to his nose in height. She didn't look much younger than he was, 4 or five sounded about right. She still didn't answer.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said to her reassuringly.

"I know…" She muttered lightly, her voice soft, she trailed off.

"What's your name?" He asked her still gently.

She looked at him for a moment more before answering him. "Leila. I'm Leila Falton, and I came from a farm somewhere."

"You were a farmer?" Now that he had her talking he wouldn't lighten up.

"My mommy and daddy were, I'm 4.All I did was clean up the house."

When she didn't give a sign of continuing, he asked her, "Where are they now?"

Fear spread across her face as she said "The thunder clouds, ships and fire from the sky. They are looking for me." She started to tear at her eyes." Don't let them find me. Keep me safe? Please?"

Live wasn't sure what he could do, but he couldn't tell her no. "I promise that nobody will hurt you."

Leila looked at him, pain showed visibly under her eyes. She than wrapped her arms around him, and held him close in an unmistakable hug. He could do nothing but stroke her hair.

She broke off away from him, wiping tears from her face. He wasn't sure what he should do, or how he could make her feel safe when he was so afraid himself. There was nothing he could do, but let the Jedi master talk about things he wasn't interested in, and just wait for whatever happened. He tried not to notice Leila take his hand into hers.

The men hadn't stopped talking for quite some time now. They were talking about where he should be placed. He was to be assigned a master, the Jedi escort he'd been given explained to him.

"They are trying to find the master that's right for you." He continued, "You see… every master had their own way of teaching what they learned, and due to your test, they are trying to decide who would teach you the best."

Live wasn't really interested in all of that, he distinctly heard Leila's name more than once mentioned between them.

"Why do they keep talking about Leila?" Live asked.

The Jedi looked at him strangely for a second. "She tested identically to you, they are arguing about whether you are both to be given the same master, or kept separate for your own protection."

"My protection?"

"Yes. You see, she wont talk to anybody. In the weeklong trek from her home planet to here, she hadn't said a word to anybody, except you. They fear she may keep silent if she is allowed to stay with you… or it could help her eliminate her fear. There are also… other dangers of keeping her near you."

"What? What dangers?" Live demanded.

"You wouldn't understand… but you may become jealous when she surpasses you with the force." He told Live shakily.

"Why would she surpass me?" Live asked.

"She has the highest mediclorian count since Lord Vader's time. It is possible that she could be the most powerful Jedi ever." He explained to Live.

However, Live was unmoved, "She wont be. She's younger than me."

"You know very little about the force initiate. You will learn though."

Live didn't believe it, he would be the most powerful Jedi ever. She would be right under him. He wont let anything hold him back.

The Jedi had finally stopped talking, and they faced Live.

"It has been decided. Come with me, and we will fetch Leila. You are to be trained with Master Yalmara."

Whoever that was didn't matter, so long as Live got to be with Leila, and that was really all he cared about. He wasn't sure what it was about Leila that he liked so much.

The Jedi stopped before a door, and knocked on the silver metal a few times. When the door opened a woman appeared.

"Has she said anything to you?" The Jedi asked.

The woman shook her head. "Just one word, Live. I couldn't figure out what it meant."

"It's the boys name" The Jedi master said nodding in Live's direction.

The woman nodded and disappeared into the room, she emerged a few seconds later, escorting Leila with her. Leila looked positively terrified, her blue eyes wide open with fear. Her eyes widened further at the site of Live, and than shrank back to a normal size. She suddenly grew more comfortable, and moved closer to Live, and she managed a smile. Meek, afraid, but a smile.

"Come." The Jedi demanded, and they followed.

They arrived at a door, and the Jedi punched a code in, and allowed the door to open. "Your master has been alerted to your presence by now. Make yourselves comfortable and wait. Master Yalmara will be here shortly. Show your master respect at all times. They know what they're doing."

He turned around and left as soon as they entered the room. They were left to stand and wait for their fate.


	2. Chapter 2

Leila began to grow nervous, the enemies that tried to hunt her would find her eventually. These people, these…Jedi as they called themselves promised her that she would learn great powers that she could use for knowledge and defense. Whatever those were, if she could use them to defend herself, she would learn them, and learn them quickly.

She didn't remember her parents, but she sure remembered her uncle, whom she'd been living with for as long as she could remember. Her hands were already callused from all the hard work that she had gone through in her short life living on the farm.

She was already skilled in fixing things, as soon as she knew how they were put together. She had done just that for the last 6 months of her life. Before "they" came.

They had come with their ships, flying over their homes, and with their blasters, raining a fire from the sky, burning the homes of everybody, including hers. The man that had saved her brought her here, with promises that she would be able to defend herself from the people that had destroyed her home. Despite that he'd saved her, she didn't trust him, and she didn't say a word to anybody for three days. Not until she met Live.

She couldn't explain it, but she actually trusted him. She didn't know why. He was only a little older than she was, but she just didn't trust people that were older than her. She supposed she was going to have to trust her master, however grudgingly. She didn't have to say anything to him. This master wouldn't get anything out of her. She wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything. So she just grabbed Live's hand.

He jumped as she made contact, but she knew that he would grow comfortable enough eventually. She wasn't sure if there was anything left to do but wait.

They continued to wait, and Live became nervous. His hands were starting to shake a little bit. Leila never stopped scanning the room, looking for a possible attack. They could come from anywhere, the window, the closets or …

"The door," Live began, "is opening.

Leila looked over her shoulder, and she saw that he was right, the door was opening. Standing up as straight as she could, she faced a cloaked figure, with a face in shadows, shadowed against the bright opening in the side of the room. Leila made a motion to move the hair out of her face, and took a glance at the cloaked figures hand. When the hood lowered, Leila was unsurprised to see the dark curls flowing down to the shoulder, the entire cloak was removed to show clothing that revealed a much more feminine form. Her face was smooth, and young, she didn't look old enough to be a Jedi master. All the other Jedi masters Leila had seen until now were old men. How old was she? Leila was so transfixed in observing the woman that she was startled when she spoke.

"So you are Live and Leila? Younger than I was when I started, you are to be my first apprentices." She paused and smiled a kind soothing grace of a mother, "You are very young Leila. Four at most I believe?"

Leila said nothing, only nodded.

"I thought so. You are still afraid to talk? Under normal circumstances I'd let you go, and not be trained until you are ready, but you are to be started right away. You have too much power to waste any possible time you can be training, doing nothing." She walked closer to Live and her, and Leila ducked behind Live. "Please don't hide Leila, you'll only make things worse for yourself. Please talk to me."

Leila looked at her from over Live's protective shoulder, and simply stared, she just wasn't sure what to do. But the power… the power the woman offered Leila could be used to protect herself. She just needed this woman to teach her. Leila knew she had to speak to her master, Yalmara. But what to say? Could she really trust this woman? What if she was working for them? For the people that destroyed her home, and were now looking for her. Did she really have a choice in the matter? She could say nothing, and keep safe, or was it not really helping her at all?

"Leila," She said suddenly, "If you want to get help, you'll need to talk to me, and tell me how the force effects you, until I know by what you say that you've held the force properly, you cannot learn the force."

Leila felt the battle with herself. Her fears and doubts winning over her will to learn the force . Master Yalmara spoke yet again. This time, she got so close to Leila's face she could see individual eyelashes.

"You have more potential talent that any of the Jedi seen since the Clone Wars. You have much more ability born in you that half put together. You are the next Jedi, destined to bring universal peace, as the prophecy foretold. The galaxy will see peace again. You are the key, and you wont be able to hide it any more. I. Will. Teach. You. And. You. Will. Bring. Back. Peace. Just. Speak. To. Me. Please." Leila could feel the warmth radiating off the woman's body. The black curls circled her eyes, and Leila looked at her eyes, the deep watery blue, like Live's. She realized that she could trust the woman. "Please." She pleaded.

"I'm Leila Farnum. I'm four years old, and I live in the Kessarian System, on the 5th moon of Gallia. I was a moisture farmer, I helped my uncle fix things." She said softly.

Master Yalmara smiled, her lips curving just so little. There was warmth there, the smile shone in her eyes. "There you go Leila, it's not that hard to speak now is it?" She laughed softly at nothing "You may release Live he is becoming quite uneasy." Leila looked at him, and realized that she was right. She released. "Very good, now… I think it's best that we get started on the right foot now, and get some work done. The first thing I want you to know is my name. Do you know my name?"

"You are Master Yalmara?" Live quickly put in.

"No. That is what you'll call me in a formal situation. Meaning only in front of the Jedi Counsel. Any other time, just call me Sara. The name is easier to remember, and to pronounce. Is that clear?" Even though the tone was that of an order, she gave them both a sincere smile. "I just want you to talk to me today, and we can get to know each other a little better. After I get to know you a little more, we'll see if we can touch the force today, I want to get started as soon as possible. Let's have a seat here on the floor, and we can talk."

It was there, sitting on the floor of the Jedi's chambers talking to this woman, Sara; that she realized that she had for the first time in her life, a mother, and sitting right next to her was her brother.


	3. Chapter 3

Live no longer knew what to expect, there were new surprises around every corner, and Master Yalmara was always coming up with new lessons, when least expected. He wasn't sure what direction she was going at, he had become better at doing many of the exercises she had taught, the first 6 months had been educational to say the least. Leila was learning how to do things incredibly fast, even faster than Live ever could imagine, he didn't understand how such a young girl, now 5, could learn so quickly. She was like a blur to him now during the exercises she made it up to, while Live was still on the twentieth stage. His frustration was growing, and he was talking to his master alone.

"Don't feel so inferior, we all learn at different rates, but it doesn't say how powerful we will become. You are learning much faster than I ever did, it took me a year to learn what you had learned. You have many talents, you will be a Jedi knight before long." Sara looked on with her kind motherly eyes, they never changed. Her eyes were always looking kindly upon him and Leila.

"Thank you Sara. I wont fail you." Live smiled back at her reassuringly.

"I know you wont let me down." She told him, and a fire shone in her eyes, however briefly.

Live shivered.

The lessons continued for some time. There were many things to learn, and Leila wanted to know everything there was to know. Her small lightsaber staff that she was constructing in her room wasn't quite complete yet. There were still minor adjustments to be made, and she should have it running within a few weeks. Training had been difficult lately; she felt that she was slowing down, that she wasn't learning as quickly as she could be. Three years had gone by, and she still hadn't been allowed to go on the missions for the Jedi counsel. At seven she was more powerful than some of the older Jedi Knights, and she hadn't even been granted the rank of Padawan learner yet. She was still simply and Initiate. All that would change soon. She knew that it had to, after she proven herself in a duel with her Master. Just when her lightsaber was completed. She would prove the better of her and Live. But Live was getting more powerful. He could nearly match her for abilities in lightsaber combat. Her best friend since arriving, she wouldn't let the Jedi to separate them for more than a few minutes. In her room, alone, she had taught him some of the more interesting abilities. The lightning bolts were weak, but very effective at immobilizing a target. She often practiced with Live. He was getting quite good at hitting her with the bolt. He was immobilizing her much more often. She was glad that he took to these abilities well. The other Jedi had taught her that such abilities were unnatural. She would need Live to help her in the future, and they would be together forever. She had foreseen it.

Master Yalmara had set up the sparing course, in which Leila and Live would both prove their worth in saber dueling. They would face off in the first round, simply to prove their strength in defense, and after a victor was decided, they would work together to get through an obstacle course blocked by weak blaster armed druids, with a final leg of the course containing many lightsaber wielding druids. The course was equipped with disable only weapons, but it would test their abilities like they never had before, there were also a couple surprises in store for them. This would also test their reactions to a spontaneous environment. Sarah looked at the course she had set up, and took in hand a special lightsaber. She wondered how they would fare in the course. They both should be there at any moment.

Leila arrived just before the appointed time, she wanted to be perfect, to leave a good impression. Sarah had hinted that getting through this course would see them raised as Padawan learners. Her and Live would finally be allowed to go on some real missions, with assistance of their master of course.

"Good Leila, you arrived earlier than expected. Now we just have to wait for Live." Master Yalmara complimented.

"Live hasn't arrived yet? He's usually earlier than I am. He has grown quite powerful the last two months." Leila said, her voice sounded distant, or disembodied.

Sarah frowned, "You recognized that as well? I wouldn't have expected that from one as young as you." Her frown turned into a warm smile. "But you are always exceeding our expectations. I trust your lightsaber is nearly complete?" Sarah laughed at Leila's frightened look, "Yes I know about it, you think I don't look over you to see your progress every so often? You wont get in trouble, everybody bends the rules in some way, construction of a lightsaber in secret is very common. Especially in one as strong as you are."

"Well, since you already know… It's almost ready, I just need to get the blade to last longer, it only lasts for about three or four seconds."

"You need a crystal, when you're ready, I'll take you to the mines where they are found. It will be a test of your detection abilities, you shouldn't have any trouble however." Sara smiled at Leila, "You've grown so much in so short a time, I am proud to be your teacher."

"Thank you Sara." Leila bowed formally, "Master Yalmara."

"You may rise my Apprentice." When Leila looked at her, she was smiling at her. "You will grow very strong, you have barely tapped your true potential, only life can bring you to reveal your true talents, both the light and dark sides will be opened up to you. I hope that you will have learned enough from me to make the right decisions in life."

"I wont fail you mas…" Sara held out her hand to silence her, "Sara."

Live walked in at that moment, looking quite flustered, his dark hair hanging in front of his eyes, his dark clothing hanging loosely from his skin. He was breathing heavy, and he was carrying his practice saber in his hands.

"I'm sorry Sara I'm late. I had some trouble gathering my things." He continued panting between words.

"I'll give you a moment to rest, we have time to kill yet." Sara sat down and began to meditate. Live did the same, and Leila decided to do so as well.

Minutes passed in silence, and Leila took the opportunity to clear her mind and embrace the force. She channeled the energy into herself, and she felt her muscles relax, and her mind activate itself. Healing with the force did more than heal wounds, it energized body and mind. She felt full of energy that she never knew that she had. The effects were familiar and she could sense that Live was doing a similar exercise with the force.

"Leila, what was that, that you were just doing?" Sara's voice startled Leila.

"I was using a healing ability I learned." Leila said standing up. "It also helps me to concentrate, gives me an energy boost."

"That was no healing ability. There was something strange about it… it was nothing that I had ever seen before in my life. When have you used it before?"

"I figured it out when I was sick, I used it on myself and I got better." Leila said simply.

"I had never even heard of a self healing ability that could cure illnesses with such efficiency. There are none that give somebody energy the way it does to you. Until I understand more about it I ask that you refrain from using it unless necessary." Sara sounded concerned, and her eyes mirrored that.

"Yes Sara, I will be careful." Leila gave Sara a small bow, and she set off to the other side of the room. "What is our training session to be today?"

"I'm glad you asked Leila. Live, stand right next to her, and I will give you your directions." Live stood next to her, and she looked at him briefly. "In this room you will see a circle in the ground, this is called a sparring area. You two are to face off in a quick duel so I can measure your abilities. If you both pass, you will be able to move on to the next stage. It is a maze and an obstacle course. I can only tell you that there are druids that you must disable when you come across them, they are armed with weak blasters that will only burn you slightly. Depending on the number of burns you incur in this test, you will pass when you reach the end. Expect anything, there will be surprises around every bend. Mind what you have learned, it can save you. Good luck. You may enter the circle."

Leila stood close to the center, and Live took the place exactly opposite her. She smiled, and took the lightsaber in her hand, gave a formal bow, which was returned by Live, and ignited the lightsaber. She readied the blade in the defensive stance and waited for his response. Live ignited his and place his orange blade next to her blue. He gave her a smile and lunged forward one step, the blade coming close to her face, and she calmly stepped back. Leila made the first strike, and he deflected her blow inches from his thigh and retaliated with an upper swing to her shoulders, and she blocked that shot quickly before she gave her own retaliation. Each shot she gave was blocked with precision, and every shot he gave her got closer to a hit. She knew she wasn't being aggressive enough, because she was too weary about harming him. She pushed forward, sending three attacks at him in a row before he retaliated with more intensity than she had seen from him thus far. The fight steadily grew faster, and soon the blades were just blurs of light in her eyes. She no longer saw but she felt. The force moved her hands to guide her to the right path, but she manipulated it, toyed with the power, to make it bend to her will. Live slowed down around her, and his blade moved slowly. She struck as she would normally, and she attacked with much more aggression she had. Somehow, with her moving faster than he was, he managed to block the attacks and moved to strike at her. He began to move faster, and she was losing strength. She blocked his shot and locked his saber to hers. This was an intentional move, and she pushed as much as she could, but his strength was overpowering hers, and she used the force to push him away, he landed on the ground, and she lunged forward, and struck a blow to his neck.

Practice sabers couldn't actually cut, and he was left with a small burn on the side of his neck in what would have been a fatal killing shot.

"Very good, both of you. Congratulations Leila, that looked like a hard earned victory. Live, you were doing incredibly the entire time. You let your guard down, don't become too complacent. But nonetheless, you both are ready for this next test, I will be awaiting you at the finish. Good luck. If you don't find your way back in 6 hours, we will end the test, and all the doors will be unlocked so you may find your way back." Sara headed towards a door leading to a lift which would obviously take her to where she would be waiting.

A door right next to the lift opened, and Leila knew that it was the door that would take her to the course to decide her future. She helped Live steady himself, and she said to him, "I guess we have to work together now."

Live didn't seem to have anything to say; he simply nodded.

They both moved forward together into the doorway. Leila chuckled and thought, A doorway to the future.

Their footsteps echoed through a long narrow corridor. Silvery metal walls rose up on either side ten feet in the air. There was no ceiling, and a Jedi could easily jump the distance, it was impossible to say which way the fork thirty paces ahead of them would lead.

They stopped walking abruptly, and Live suggested, "We could jump up to see where the forks go."

Leila shook her head, "Sara isn't foolish, it wouldn't be that easy. Throw your lightsaber up to where a ceiling should be."

Live looked at her, frowned and threw the lightsaber into the air, it stopped where the ceiling should have been, and emanated a red electrical glow. Leila gave a nod of satisfaction.

"A force field, that was the first test, to expect a surprise like that. We'll have to use sense to figure out the bends." She gave him a self satisfied smile.

"How will sense help us in a maze? Wouldn't it be all random with no pattern?" He asked skeptically.

"Not mind sense, force sense. The ability that Sara taught us. It will let us see things we wouldn't normally see." She sighed and resisted the urge to smack him in the head.

"All right, do you see anything?" He asked.

"No, I don't sense anything nearby, maybe there is some sort of clue somewhere." She started to think as they both continued their trek down the tube.

"Maybe it's just a maze, no clues, just obstacles. Or maybe the obstacles are the clues at the same time. Like the other testing course she put together." Live suggested.

"No, this is a different kind of test. We have to seek these clues; not wait for them to fall onto our laps." She thought privately for a moment and fell into silence… she spoke again, "I don't know, maybe you're right. It's possible that she put something together based on all of our skills, and we will have to work together to get through the course. None of us can do it alone. A test in team cooperation. Without a master to command us."

Live seemed to consider, "Yeah, I guess. It makes a little sense."

They reached the end of the first straightaway, and saw two closed doors.

"All right," Leila said, cracking her knuckles, "Our first obstacle."


	4. Chapter 4

Sara looked on as they reached the first checkpoint. Leila was remarkably astute for a seven-year-old. The hidden microphones sent everything they were saying, and from Sara's cloaked view, she could watch everything from overhead.

Live wasn't the most headstrong of Jedi, not in problem solving or street smarts. He was very intelligent, and could figure most things out, given enough time. He was a strange contradiction, that one. He couldn't solve problems very well, but he can make out how's and why's in a situation. He couldn't find the solution, but he solves everything he came across, whether by accident or intentionally didn't matter, he got through things. Perhaps such infernal luck that boy had just allowed him to skim by. She didn't understand how he did it. The boy had dubious luck, even though her own philosophy condemned the very thought of somebody making it through life on luck, it was preposterous. He must have been brighter than his exterior revealed.

Leila on the other hand was dangerous. The girl was an aggressive student, hardened to the core. Her own past had clouded her judgment, and she had a hard time trusting other people. Sara was surprised that she had even developed a minimal trust to her, and her trust in Live was the only one that seemed to truly exist. She would often go days only talking to Live, and she would clench her jaws shut stubbornly every time Sara came to counsel her. It was incredible to see such a distrusting girl of that age. They usually couldn't wait to make new friends, but Leila, after 3 years had never recovered from the horror in her early childhood that had completely destroyed her trust in sentients. There would be no cure for the trauma that destroyed her mind, she would probably not trust anybody that she didn't have to in her entire life. Sara was sure that Leila only trusted her because she had no choice. However, her trust in Live wasn't necessary for her own future… unless the girl had some other use that she was saving just for him. Sara shook her head, her apprentice was only 4 when she somehow developed that trust. She couldn't have been planning anything. There was simply no way she would plan that far ahead, even a girl as astute as she was.

Live continued to feel around the door, attempting to find a switch or something. There could have been one on the other side of the door. They had been searching in the area for about 15 minutes, and they still hadn't made it past the first obstacle.

Leila was searching near the other door behind him. She suddenly bent over, and looked at something on the floor. Live could feel her motions in the back of his head, being that he held the force.

"Live, I've found something." She said, and he turned around to face her.

"What is it? What did you find?" He asked her eagerly.

"Just scan the area right in front of me, it's some kind of inscription that you have to use the force to see." Leila instructed.

Live complied and began to scan the ground in front of her, he saw nothing, and he told Leila this.

"You don't know the ability?" She asked.

"I can use sense." He told her.

"No," Leila began, "You have to use scan, don't you know it?"

Live shook his head.

Sighing, Leila told him what he needed to do to use the scan ability. It took a while, about 10 minutes were lost. Live knew that their time wasn't limited, and he began to rush things.

"Live, just scan the ground right here." She told him, pointing.

He scanned the ground, and some visible lines seemed to appear in front of him. They seemed to have no color, and there was no actual shape, but he could identify shape, and see a color he was not familiar with.

What he was a bright circle on the ground, an elaborate design of triangles pointing outward from the center. The circle was connected to an equally bright line, that went a little further away, down the hall. Too far away to actually touch with the force.

"I see it… it looks like a button." He said.

"Yeah, I tried to push it, but I think there's another one down the hall, and I can't reach it. We have to push them at the same time."

"I see, I'll find it."

Finding the other button wasn't hard at all. He just had to follow the bright line down the hall. He saw one that had a slightly different design. Triangles pointing inwards toward the center.

"I've got it, I'll push it now."

Live pushed with the force, and the button sank into the ground. Incredibly, the floor was still in tact the button was beneath the surface.

"It didn't work." Leila shouted down the hall.

Live thought for a moment… the symbols were clues. His was a push, and hers was a pull.

"Try using pull on it." He said, as he own button slid back into place.

Pushing down on it again, this time Leila's shout indicated that it worked.

Live ran back to the door to find both had opened. Another door had opened that simply revealed a sign in the wall.

It read, "Any path taken will lead to life's ultimate destination. There are no wrong choices, only different consequences for your actions. To the left is an easy trail with great perils to cross, the right is a difficult path with little hazards. Once a decision is made, the doors will close, and you are committed to the chosen path. Both must choose the same path, and move onward together., the maze truly does begin. Choose wisely."

"What do you think?" Live asked.

"I think that we could take any perils thrown in our direction." She said defiantly.

"Left than?"

"Sith yeah." She said with a smile.

They turned to the left, the easy path with perils, and as they both walked through, the door snapped shut behind them. The door in front opened. So now the challenge begins.

The mazes materials were different in this stretch of the maze. There were gray stone bricks in the floor. The walls were also set in thick gray stone; it was as if they had set foot in one of those ancient temples they had read about. There was even a stone ceiling, and there were torches in the walls for light.

"This is the easier path?" Live said skeptically.

Leila snorted, "Are you that naïve? The other path was probably designed like a forest, and would be impossibly hard to navigate." Live would always judge right away without anything to back up his opinion.

"It just doesn't feel right, there's not enough light, it feels cramped in here."

It was true, it did feel small, and their footsteps echoed off the walls wrong, their voices rang for too long. The ceiling reflected the torchlight wrong. It was a very unsettling environment.

"I think the ceiling is a one sided hologram. Sara can still see us." She said.

"How can you be sure?"

"I don't sense a wall above us, there is no stone like there is all around us, I can sense it. Not only that but the torches flickering aren't in sync."

"How do you do that?" Live said annoyed.

"It's just my instinct. It hasn't failed me yet." She bluntly told him with a smirk.

"Yeah, well will you… Get DOWN!" Live was interrupted with simultaneous laser blasts.

Leila quickly reacted drawing her lightsaber deflecting the blasts with ease. The 4 droids that had appeared at the end of the corridor went down in a flaming fury as the deflected blasts found home.

When Leila turned around, her lightsabers blue lighting casting a soft glow about the room, she saw Live just getting up off the ground.

"Get your saber up and ready. You'll have to learn to react better than that in a real life situation." Leila told him, and he took out his own orange lightsaber, the orange tint of the lightsaber clashing with her own blue. The combination of the two colors were creating a strange blend.

The lightsabers hummed quietly, but the echoes off the walls magnified the sound to a dull roar. Leila saw the droids carried small blasters, with settings marked.

She saw Live deactivate the lightsaber and pick one of the handguns up.

"It's set to the lowest level," Live announced, "but it can be increased to a high enough setting to take down the droids easier. You can cover me, and I'll shoot."

"Do you know how to use that?" She asked him.

Live gave no answer, but merely shot into the wall 50 paces behind them, fired another shot which landed only inches away from where the first bolt hit.

Leila gave a nod of approval, "All right just stay behind me, I'll watch your ass." She smiled again, the way she always did when she was swearing.

Live sighed, but got behind her. They continued the trek down the hall, with only one lightsaber ignited, there was less light, but still sufficient enough with the aid of the torches.

They ran into several groups of droids before they came to the first obstacle. The droids quickly mowed down by rapid high-powered fire by Live's blaster.

"You shoot a pistol with the accuracy of a rifle. How do you do that?" Leila asked as they came to a stop in front of a door.

"I just use the force to steady my hand. It's quite simple." He told her. "I didn't know you could do that." She said skeptically, unable to argue with the results, however.

The next task at hand was a very interesting setup. She could see the switches that opened the door, but there must be something else, it just seemed too easy.

She pulled the switch and found the door opened rather easily. She walked in alongside Live, her lightsaber ready, just in case. The door closed with a metallic clank behind her. More torches were lit, and she could see a fifty foot gap between the floor and the next piece of floor.

The gap was immense! There was no possible way to ump it, and no visible switches to activate a bridge. She couldn't see how far it went, the bottom shrouded in shadow. Live jumped in and before Leila had a chance to grab at him with the force he landed on a floor just out of sight. His head bobbed and the rest of his body was in darkness.

"I could sense the ground, remember, this is the easy path. This was a mental test, to see if we'd look at the most obvious solution." He told her.

Leila gave an embarrassed smile and jumped in after him.

"Besides," He continued, "There is no way she could have put a real cliff in the testing arena. There was a slight incline, raising us 5 feet above normal, and that's it." He looked at her and laughed, "I can't see you, and you're below the hologram. They used that to make it look like there was a 50 foot drop."

Leila was abashed that she hadn't made the discovery first. At least Live could keep a clear head.

When they reached the end of the miniature ravine, they easily used the force to ump the required distance in the air. They landed without much difficulty to get through to the next door.

More droids armed with guns came about, and Live used the blaster to disable them all. A quick raid of energy packs and they were off. Leila supposed they had another 3 hours to get out by the time they reached the 4th obstacle. All the others had been simple enough, and this was no exception.

Immediately thereafter, they had the largest influx of droids yet. There were about thirty, and they fired more laser bolts at a faster rate than any they had yet to face.

The bolts were coming too fast for Leila to block them all, and Live quickly dropped the gun and took out his lightsaber. His help with the deflection soon took the droids down. Unfortunately, with such weak bolts hitting them, it took more than 5 bolts to take one droid down. They were soon all down, and Live had no less than three burns on his arm.

Leila took him in hand and focused on his arm.

"Leila I'm fine, we don't have time." He tried to protest.

"Just hold on one second." She told him impatiently.

She focused the force onto his arm, remembered how she had used the force to heal herself when she meditated, she put that energy into Live's arm, and it healed itself, right in front of her eyes.

"Wow," She said to herself breathlessly"

Live looked at his arm, completely free of burns. "Thanks." He said with a surprised tone.

She smiled at him, "Don't mention it." She told him.

About 5 minutes after the large influx, they saw two droids standing at the end of a long hallway. They just stood there for a moment, and two red lightsabers ignited, and they began to run forward.

Leila quickly ignited her blade, and Live, right next to her lit his, and got into his ready position.

The droids came level with them, and the fight began, Leila was on the defensive for a long time, unable to get a chance to lay in an attack. Live seemed to be trying to take an offensive swing at the droid, but all his attempts were reversed and blocked. Even he only got a chance at a swing every few strokes.

The red blade of the droids lightsaber came down right next to her head, and she dodged to the side, taking her new position to her advantage, and swung at the legs. The droids legs were knocked clear off its body, and the droid fell to the ground, and the glowing red eyes fell silent.

The battle continued on with Live and the other droid, and after Leila joined in the fight, the droid overloaded and was unable to defend against two attackers.

Live bent over the crumpled remains of the droid, pondering over something.

"We're using practice sabers, why did the droids limbs come off?" He wondered aloud.

"Maybe there are sensors that can tell when a leg or arm should come off. Just so it will simulate how it should happen in reality." She shrugged.

After a moment of observation, Live picked up the droids lightsaber and put it on his belt next to his own. He looked as if he just had a great idea. Leila had her own idea for wielding twice the blade at once. She found out it was called a lightsaber staff. Live seemed to prefer duel sabers.

Leila's own blade was nearing it's completion, all that was necessary for it's completion was the crystal that her master had told her about that she would have to find as part of her testing. She hoped that day would come soon. She so looked forward to showing her master the blade she had made.

Live yelled back at her from down the hall to have her catch up, and Leila who hadn't realized she was kneeling in front of the droid still.

She quickly got up and continued down the dark hallways of what resembled an ancient castle.

The next hour of wandering steadily grew more intense, the lightsaber wielding droids were growing in number, and some were backed up by gunners. Live's burns were growing, and Leila herself soon succumbed to a few scorches, though not as badly as Live. However, with his double lightsaber technique, he took droids down much faster, and efficiently.

Somehow, he managed to smile as she took his head in her hands and healed him. When he got back up, he brushed his own hand against hers, and she felt herself blush. After they turned another bend, she realized that they were at the end of the maze, and they had passed with hours to spare. Sara stood at the end of the hallway, standing serenely, black curls circling her eyes.

"Congratulations." She said placidly, "You have made it all the way to the end." She paused, and removed two small silver rods from a clip in her belt. "You must now take your final test." She ignited two lightsabers, their blue blades barely missing her face. "You need only prove yourself worthy, you do not have to strike me." Another set of blades activated, and the two lightsabers staves twirled dangerously in front of her, "You should have little trouble doing what I expect you to do. I wish you luck."

Sara took a dangerous step forward, the blue blades blurring in front of her into steady sapphire circles. Live was in a ready stance, the blue and red lightsabers forward for defense. Leila prepared herself as well, her single orange blade ready to defend.

Sara got even closer, narrowing their already limited sparring room. Leila knew that if she could back them into a wall she would have them right where she wanted. She could not let this happen. She didn't know how to stop her master, and Leila kept backing up, Live right beside her, nervously clutching his blue lightsaber defensively. It was like trying to stop four lightsabers at once.

She continued to back away from the whirlwind of blades, moving ever closer to her trembling saber. Leila felt a wall prevent her from moving any further. She got her stance ready, her masters face obscured by a cloud of blue light. As her master moved even closer, she sensed something strange about the ceiling that hung low overhead, she looked again at her masters twirling blades, which were moving through the ceiling, but leaving no tell tall scorch marks behind. Leila felt the force rush through her, and she jumped, sailing safely through the holographic ceiling, and safely on the other side of her master. She felt the world slow around her, and she blocked her master's strike, never having any more time for anything other than defense. Live on the other side of her, his lightsaber blending with the light of her master's staves was defending himself well; he even managed to take the occasional offensive swing. Leila was barely holding her ground, she had trouble focusing. Sara's blades were getting closer to hitting home, and Leila let a rage consume her, and the force flowed into her differently, it no longer guided her, it empowered her, filled her with essence and commanded her blades to move, faster, more aggressive, she moved on the offensive against her master, keeping her at bay, and winning. Violent slashes were sent towards Sara's torso getting dangerously closer. The force was tearing through Leila's body, draining the life out of her, slowly. A quick sideways slash brought Sara's blade into the wall, immobile, and Leila's lightsaber rested right next to Sara's neck.

Sara's face was a mixture of fear and surprise, Leila's own garbled up emotions were showing a mix of feelings. She was breathing heavily and trying to keep standing. Sara spoke first.

"Congratulations." She told them formally, "You passed the test. It is my privilege to bring you both to the counsel to be promoted to Padawan Learners." She finished, and Leila's saber flew out of her hand and into Sara's outstretched palm. She smiled at a slightly irritated look on Leila's face. "Don't forget that you still have much to learn." She beckoned for them to follow.


End file.
